Franchising Over 50

Business myths are rife with stories about youthful entrepreneurs who concocted wild ideas while eating pizza in a tiny college dorm room, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars of VC capital and founded million dollar ventures. While this does happen, it is rare. The typical entrepreneur is a middle-aged professional who taps into a market need and uses his/her own savings to get into a venture like franchising, for example.

In fact, AARP’s (A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that helps people 50 and older improve the quality of their lives) has done studies on self-employment and the over 50 population. Their research indicates that almost half of the self-employed population is over 50. What’s more about 33% of those first became self-employed at or past the age of 50.

The over 50 years proved to be the best time to start their own business for these people. For many of them, buying a franchise was the best way to do that. It’s a trend that is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Why? Well, many franchisees are retirees or downsized corporate soldiers who always wanted to own their own enterprise. With rising life expectancies, at 50, there are most likely many years of fruitful labor remaining in their lives.

Also, do not underestimate the power of mid-life reflection. It’s a time when people seek meaning in their lives. Working in a career that is not providing fulfillment can often be a springboard to considering a franchising opportunity.

A franchise can be attractive to this age group because it’s a fast way to get into business with a proven product or service. Coupled with a good support system, it can make entry into small business ownership franchising a less risky proposition.